Don't Cry Because It's Over
by Rinny Angel
Summary: A hero's life is supposed to be full of praise and glory. Unfortunately, things can never seem to go peacefully in their world. Please Read and Review. If you review i promise to try to return the favor.


# DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, I own none of these wonderful characters, they belong to Squaresoft….does anyone actually enjoy reading these stupid disclaimer thingies?

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# Don't Cry Because It's Over…

Looking back on fonder years and happier memories she smiled. She had been a legend in her own time and right, but the winds of time had eroded her memory. Her story died with him. He was the undying legend. She was only a minor factor in his story now, a nameless detail often forgotten. But she didn't care. As long as his legend remained immortal and perfect, just like him, she didn't care. He was the important one, untouched by the sands of time which had buried her name, perhaps to never be resurfaced again.

"Squall…" the name fell from her lips almost involuntarily, just as the tears fell from her eyes, without her command. The two seemed to be forever linked since he had left her all those years ago. The only comfort she could find in his death was how he died. But that was also the aspect which caused her the most pain. He did not live to grow old and weak, nor would he have put up with old age. Had he become weak and feeble that would have tarnished his memory. No. He died like the hero he was. He was young and strong, and his bravery led to his downfall. 

Many stories were told of his great battles. His unfailing bravery, his strength, and good looks. Famous were his adventures and victories. He was perfect. Young men everywhere looked up to him, and thrived on stories told of his battles. The one battle that she had remembered most vividly was his final. She remembered it like no other, for she had experienced death with him. Her heart had shattered into a thousand pieces the moment his ceased to beat anymore. 

Searching for a source of strength to hold onto as this flood of painful memories began to bear down on her she unconsciously found herself bring her hand up to clasp the rings on her necklace. They had always brought her comfort. Squall lived on in her heart and through his ring. After he had died she had inherited his original ring and it hung beside the copy that she had made for herself when she was still a teenager. That is where the memory began. When she was a teenage girl. They had just defeated Ultimecia, the world had found them as the greatest heroes time had ever seen, she had wonderful friends, and she had him…

Smiling. That was the most prominent action she did whenever she was near him. The two were very much in love and nothing could bother them when they were together. He was her knight and no closer bond between them could ever exist. 

A year had passed and Garden was more popular than ever. With Squall as commander more young men and women were requesting to enroll then ever before. Rinoa had been able to get Squall to open up quite a bit, but he was still the same old Squall. After much debate Squall had finally agreed to let Xu take care of the paper work and allow for him to concentrate on more important matters. Being a teenager was one of them.

Since the SeeD's great victory they resolved to stay active, not to become exclusive as far as missions were concerned. Stories and myths about the group spread like wildfire all over the world, and whenever one would appear in public a massive herd of fans would follow. Rinoa had become a SeeD and was always dispatched on missions with Squall. She wouldn't have it any other way. The best times of her life were had while on those missions. The friendship the group had formed between each other grew with every memory they shared. It was like having a new family and she loved every second of it. They traveled all over and saw exotic lands which she'd only dreamt of ever seeing.

His eyes were the most entrancing sight she had ever seen though. Nowhere had she ever seen such an amazing display of emotion and beauty. Over time she had learned to read those mysterious orbs, which to everyone else seemed to convey only intensity and nothing of emotion. They would talk for hours about everything and she would just stare into his beautiful eyes. How she longed to gaze into those sapphire pools again.

Squall was granted a week vacation from his duties, or rather was forced to take one. Rinoa decided to surprise him and bring him to Edea's orphanage so they could spend time together in their flower field. After taking a few flying lessons from Selphie, and deciding upon using autopilot after take off, she was ready to go. Rinoa smoothed out the invisible creases in her outfit as she waited nervously for Squall to answer his dorm room door. No matter how many times she had seen him and spoken to him she still had butterflies in her stomach before every encounter and wings in her heart during each. When he opened the door and saw her standing there waiting for him, he let a soft smile tug at the corners of his lips. The two snuck off to the Ragnorok in the cover of night and took off.

It was late and she was tired so she slept in one of the compartments while Squall examined the large flying machine for any hazards. She had only intended to close her eyes and doze for a few minutes. Had she known that these would be her last days with Squall she wouldn't have closed them for a second. She was awoken by the sudden jerk of the Ragnorok as it landed outside the orphanage. As her eyes adjusted to the light she found her knight sleeping soundly in the bed across from her. 

She had decided to have a little fun with Squall to loosen him up for his time off. She replaced her light blue frock with his black jacket and wrapped his belts around her waist. As she reached for and went to pick up his heavy gunblade a hand shot up and grabbed her wrist holding onto it tightly.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Squall had some type of sixth sense when it came to his weapon and had grabbed Rinoa as a type of natural reaction. He was in a good-humored mood and smiled as he looked at her, propping himself up with an elbow. 

"I was just going to… clean… your gunblade." She replied innocently. He let go of her wrist and she used both hands to lift the heavy object which was half her size. Squall looked her over for a second and the chase was on. With a small squeak and a giggle she dropped the gunblade and ran out the door. 

Neither had enough time to put on shoes, and since Rinoa had stolen his jacket Squall wore only his white shirt and black pants. They flew out of the Ragnorok, Rinoa looking over her shoulder and squealing in delight at the race. She lead him through the old crumbling orphanage ducking and hiding places and watched Squall jog into the room and look around in dismay at not seeing her. She giggled and gave herself away. Rinoa bolted out of the door and down to the beach below.

Getting a wicked idea, she and stopped just before the breaks of the waves on the shore and leaned over with her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

"You know," she started as she looked up to see Squall walking down to meet her "I thought SeeDs were supposed to be able to catch any criminal. Well, I stole your clothes and you've yet to catch me." She smiled smugly, coaxing him.

"I let you win." Squall retorted with a sly grin.

"Oh really?" Rinoa shifted her feet slightly in the water "Prove it!" and with that Squall dashed forward at her. She had expected this but was still surprised at his speed. She quickly sidestepped out of the way and fell onto the beach. Squall charged into the water and tripped, falling in completely. Rinoa doubled over in laughter. While she was enjoying her joke, Squall snuck up on her and playfully tackled her to the sand.The two rolled around on the beach tickling and wrestling each other. Laughing so hard that the world began to fade away around them. That was her most cherished memory of him. Never before had they felt so right. It was an incredible feeling of warmth, love and safety. They felt complete.

She felt a mixture of love and hate when looking back on this memory. Love that she could have experienced it. Hate because of the pain caused by that feeling being so harshly and abruptly ripped away from her. He had finally let his guard down to her, things were falling into place.

That night Rinoa got one of the biggest surprises of her life. She was cuddled up with Squall on the beach, gazing at the stars when a shooting star glimmered across the sky.

"There's our star." She whispered. "Something good is going to happen."

"Why do you say that?" Squall turned to face her.

"Every time it appears my life gets even better, I met you under it didn't I?" She smiled dreamily into Squall's face. Squall reached around to Rinoa's side and into the pocket of his coat.

"I hope so." Squall quietly replied. He removed a small black box from the pocket and stood up. Confused, Rinoa did the same. She gave him a questioning look and he motioned for her to follow him.

Under the iridescent moonlight Squall lead her out to the middle of the flower field then stopped to face Rinoa. 

"Why did you bring us here?" Rinoa was a little confused but still excited.

To respond to her question, Squall looked into her eyes and smiled. He got down on one knee and held up the now open black box to Rinoa. It contained a beautiful sparkling ring. He took her hand in his and asked her the most important question of his life.

"Rinoa, will you marry me?" She stood there staring at Squall for a moment, not being able to breathe, never mind speak.

"Yes.." she sighed happily when she regained control of her voice "Yes! Yes! Of course! Oh, Squall, I love you!" She got down on her knees and hugged him as tightly as she could, crying tears of joy into his shoulder.

It's funny. People often seem to cry when they're extremely happy. She never understood why until just then. It was because you're filled with such an overwhelming amount of love and excitement and joy that your body just can't contain it all. So it lets all of the sadness and anger and loneliness you used to feel out in tears. It makes more room for the passion you feel, crying out the dark unwelcome feelings creates more space for your love fill. She cried an awful lot and was still bursting with the emotions he filled her with.

Much time passed while the sorceress and her loyal knight embraced beneath the stars on their flower field. To her only he existed, and to him, only she. When they finally pulled away from each other Rinoa caught her first glimpse at the beautiful ring that symbolized his love for her. She hadn't noticed what it looked like when he had proposed to her, it simply didn't seem important. Now she could see that the ring dawned a beautiful diamond in the center with a blue stone of her favorite shade on either side. The gems themselves weren't very large, but they emitted a sparkle that rivaled that of the stars. 

"It's beautiful." She breathed. Squall sat silently smiling at her. He was so content to just watch her. So happy just to see her smile. He loved her more than the air he breathed and she loved him back with that same passion. As she sat there gazing into the eyes of the man she promised to give her life to thoughts of weddings, and kisses, and babies, andfamilies in nice comfy homes ran through her mind. She had her entire life planned out within moments of their engagement and she relished in the thought that her's would be spent by the side of the man she loved with all her heart and soul.

Unfortunately life isn't fair, and things don't always go as planned. But for the time being, everything was perfect. Squall and Rinoa fell asleep in their field holding each other in their arms as a warm summer's breeze floated over them.

When the morning came Rinoa feared that the events of the night had been nothing but a wonderful dream. She didn't want it to dissolve away in the sunlight. When morning came she awoke to the sweet sent of wild flowers in her nose, and the comforting weight of Squall's arm around her shoulders. He looked so peaceful when he slept. Soon, he too woke up and found his love lying next to him. He kissed her forehead and slowly pulled himself to his feet. 

Rinoa took his hand and stood up next to him. "Am I dreaming?"

"I hope not," Squall brushed a stray strand of hair from her eyes "because I don't want to wake up."

The two noticed that they were still wearing their sandy dirty clothes from the day before and started back toward the Ragnorok to shower and change. Before the two got very far Rinoa stopped in her tracks and Squall turn to face her with a questioning look.

"Why don't you just go on ahead of me…I have something I want to do here first." Not satisfied Squall raised an eyebrow "I promise I won't take long!" She giggled and gave him a playful shove in the direction of the ship. He gave her one of his heartwarming smiles before he slowly trudged away. 

When Squall was far enough away, she let out a happy sigh and skipped out into the middle of the flower field. She knew that after they were both clean and on the ship that they would head back to Garden to tell everyone the good news, but before going back she wanted to collect some of the wild flowers that only grew in that part of the world. She wanted some samples to show Selphie, whom she already knew she would put in charge of the wedding decorations. She lost herself in her mind planning what every little detail of the big event would be like. She was absolutely giddy.

Lazily she picked bunches of her favorite flowers from the field as she floated away in her fantasy. Little did she know that it would be her final fantasy. Reality and all of its cruelty was preparing to crash down around her. 

Normally, she would have heard it coming. Normally, she would have sensed its threatening presence. But it wasn't a normal time and she was too oblivious to her surroundings to see it until it was practically upon her. She let out a blood-curdling scream as the massive beast bore down upon her. 

She was scared out of her mind and was momentarily paralyzed by the shock of the event. She curled up into a ball. The response the attack triggered in her reminded her of what happened at the presidential palace when the two large lizards had tried to kill her. But Squall had come and saved her. Squall. 

"SQUALL!!!" she screamed the name of her love as loud as she could. Praying that this would pass. She knew in her mind that she would have to help herself. The immense creature ripped the soft flesh of her leg with its sharp claws and she screamed out in pain. She punched the solid mass on top of her with as much force as she could. The beast didn't expect his prey to fight back, and the adrenaline that was rushing through Rinoa's veins added onto her strength. Her attacker was thrown aback for a moment and she scrambled, crawling away as fast as she could. But it wasn't nearly fast enough. Once again she turned around just in time to see it leap at her. She clenched her teeth and closed her eyes preparing her body as best she could for the beating it was about to endure. But seconds passed and she felt no new pain. She mustered the courage to open her eyes. There was her knight. He had tackled the foe to the ground. He saved her.

Her relief was short lived as she realized that the Behemoth, which was what she finally identified the creature as, was still fiercely fighting with Squall. Using a scan, she realized that it was at level 100 and had astonishingly high HP. She couldn't move to help her love battle it, and silently cursed herself because of it. For a long time the deadly dance ensued. But with a mighty slash of Squall's old gunblade she saw the massive beast fall.

He limped over to where Rinoa laid and knelt by her side.

"Are you alright?" His voice was dripping in concern. She looked up to him and smiled reassuringly. "I'm so sorry I didn't get her sooner, but you'll be alright, my angel." Her heart melted when he uttered those words. He was his knight and she was his angel. Squall moved to pick Rinoa up to carry her back to the ship but it was not to be. Before he could get her off the ground he let out an unearthly yell, one which would make the air and the sea twist with the agony behind the voice of he who released the horrid noise. Rinoa's eyes grew wide as she saw the Behemoth looming behind Squall. 

Suddenly, everything went blank. She was blinded for a moment as her eyes flashed a golden tint. She felt herself gracefully being lifted from the ground by pure white angel wings as the sorceress in her took over. Without a thought she lifted her arm and let out a barrage of punishing spells which were powerful enough to deplete a group of those cursed animals. The Behemoth didn't stand a chance and was sent into nothingness. Slowly the sorceress within quieted and she returned to the ground. Upon feeling the grass once more beneath her legs her mind was thrown into complete chaos. She cast curaga, life and every other cure spell she possessed on her fallen love. In her head she loathed herself for not remembering to use these spells on Squall while she still was in control of her sorceress powers. Helplessly, she gazed back down on him. Her eyes were wet with tears that were streaming down her face.

"…Squall…" she chocked out his name through the powerful sobs that were wracking her body. Her spells were futile attempts and she could do nothing but sit there and hold him as she watched the life slip out of his body. "Don't leave me. Please. I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry…please…please…" 

Slowly, and with much effort his eyes opened and looked up to her. "Don't cry, angel." Just breathing required much of the strength he had left in his body. "Don't …don't cry because it's over…. I never want to make you cry." His once mighty frame was shaken violently with coughs. "I love you…" She bit her bottom lips so forcefully that she soon felt the metallic taste of blood in her mouth. She stared down into his stormy, sapphire eyes willing him with all her heart to live. She bent over slowly and kissed his lips, feeling them cold and motionless beneath hers. When she came up and looked down at him, his beautiful eyes were closed never to open again. His once strong body lay limp and lifeless in her arms. Her heart shattered into uncountable pieces. She threw her head up to the sky and let loose a cry of utter anguish. His death was hers, and her cry shook the very heavens above. Two lives were destroyed that day.

Hours past as she sat there in their flower field, holding him in her arms. She knew that she had to go back to Garden and tell them what had happened. She would have to tell them how their indestructible commander had met his fate. She shuttered at the thought of having to tell her friends how he had rushed out to save her, but been stabbed in the back. She dreaded having to recount how she had not been able to remind the sorceress with in her to cure him after defeating the monster. Some part of her knew that even if she had forced the sorceress to cast the strongest cure on Squall it would have been just as futile an attempt. She cried. Tears that she knew were her soul fleeing from her body to join Squall's. She made a decision then. 

When she would go home to Garden she would not tell them exactly what she saw. When she told the story it was not her who struck the fatal blow, rather it was Squall. She told them that Squall had given his life to strike that final blow. He saved her and left this world exactly who he was…the great warrior that ever lived. And the world would weep rivers for their fallen hero.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE~** Hi everyone, I hope you liked this story, sorry I killed Squall, it was nothing personal…I just started typing and this is what came out! Well, if any of you liked this fic, you might wanna checkout 'Smile Because It Happened' which is like a sister story to this one. It is about what happens to Rinoa after this (funny thing is I wrote that fic before this one J) ok well, sorry to depress you guys, maybe I'll write a humor fic soon to counter it!


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